Bird Album
Mountain Quail
Oreortyx pictus (Douglas, 1829)
233 gWeight
The mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family.
Busiest months: May · Most records: United States
Where and when it's recorded
Mountain Quail has been recorded at 6 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Sedgwick ReserveUnited States40 records
- Big Morongo Canyon Preserve & Covington ParkUnited States25 records
- Philomath Sewage PondsUnited States2 records
More places
- Tualatin River NWRUnited States1 record
- Fern Ridge WMA – Royal Ave. areaUnited States1 record
- Point No PointUnited States1 record
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. This species is the only one in the genus Oreortyx, which is sometimes included in Callipepla. This is not appropriate, however, as the mountain quail's ancestors diverged from other New World quails earlier than the bobwhites, no later than 6 mya.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Mountain Quail?
The Mountain Quail weighs around 233 g.
Where does the Mountain Quail live?
Its breeding range: North America, Middle America: southwestern Canada to Baja California. It is most often recorded in United States.
When is the best time to see the Mountain Quail?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Mountain Quail endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Mountain Quail as Least Concern.
What does the Mountain Quail eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Mountain Quail in?
It belongs to the family New World Quail (Odontophoridae), order Galliformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 233 g
- Habitat
- Shrubland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 134 mm
- Tail
- 73 mm
- Bill
- 15 mm
- Tarsus
- 35 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America, Middle America: southwestern Canada to Baja California
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- New World Quail Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Oreortyx
More from the family New World Quail
Stone PartridgePtilopachus petrosus
Nahan's PartridgePtilopachus nahani
Buffy-crowned Wood PartridgeDendrortyx leucophrys
Long-tailed Wood PartridgeDendrortyx macroura
Bearded Wood PartridgeDendrortyx barbatus
Scaled QuailCallipepla squamata
Elegant QuailCallipepla douglasii
California QuailCallipepla californica
Gambel's QuailCallipepla gambelii
Banded QuailPhilortyx fasciatus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by fowlerope. ↗
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